Someone to Understand
by sugahcat
Summary: After the nation discovering his lycanthropy after PoA, Remus goes to drown his sorrows in the Leaky Cauldron. And there he finds someone to understand.


This is a pathetic excuse for a 'fic, but it's also pretty funny (and sweet!). Remy and Remus acting OTT and loving it. Hey, Remy even gets to be a bit of a Mary-Sue... They snog, no more, but its good enough for me. Go write your own NC-17 if that's what you like :) Just tell me, so I can read it *sniggers*

It's an odd little ficcy, but I kinda find myself liking it... Ah, two gorgeous men snogging, what more can ya ask for? Read it and review - I'm not expecting many, tho :P

Dedication: To Lady Feylene - this is all your fault. Wouldn't have written it if you hadn't made Remus' eyes glow...

WARNING! ACHTUNG! This is SLASH! As said already, it is two men snogging. If you don't like that sort of thing, its probably best if you go away.

Disclaimer:Cheese whiz, this again? The characters on the HP side belong to Ms. JK Rowling and the Brothers Warner. On the X-Men side, they are Marvel's. Not mine. The sick mind, however, is most certainly mine and mine alone. 

* * *

Someone to Understand

Lighting his cigarette and sighing, Remy LeBeau inhaled the smoke deeply, closing his eyes as he did so. _Hmm. Dat's nice._ It had been too long since he'd had a decent smoke. Far too long. He'd had visions of giving it up for the new year, but he knew as well as everyone else that it wasn't going to happen. No point in kidding himself. 

_What diff'rence does it make an'way? M' mutant physiology takes care o' the carcinogens, and I like it. Roguie might complain about de smell, but de way she's been acting lately..._ Rogue was oftentimes Remy's other half. The two were members of the team of mutant superheroes, the X-Men. Mutants were people gifted - or cursed - with a special loci on their genome that gave them a sort of special power. Remy's was the ability to charge matter with kinetic energy, making it explode. Rogue's was to suck the powers, mind and energy from anyone she touched. Hence the reason Remy was on the prowl tonight. He was horny.

"Not like I'm right sure where I stand wit' de gal, anyway," he muttered, and looked up as he reached a pub. "Leaky Cauldron? What de hell type o' a name for a pub dat be?" Shrugging, he pushed his way into the pub, and looked around. _'Kay..._ It looked like he'd just walked into a Tolkein Society convention. With pointy hats, robes and cloaks, they looked ridiculous. Pausing in his thoughts for a moment, Remy remembered he was a superhero, and couldn't talk about the way _anyone_ dressed. Shrugging again, he threw himself into the nearest available seat and grinned at the person he was sat next to. 

A shy-looking man, handsome enough, with grey eyes with amber flecks and nice - if untidy - light brown hair with flecks of silver. He looked up at Remy, looking morose, and frowned at him. 

"I'm Remy LeBeau," Remy introduced himself, ignoring the other man's stare. "Don't t'ink I ever seen dis pub 'round b'fore. Den again, can't say I'm a big fan o' London. Too 'spensive for my tastes." Never mind the fact Remy was one of the worlds greatest thieves and thus a multi-millionaire. London was still a rip-off. Remy had just dropped by to give Brian Braddock a jewel he had stolen, as a farewell gift to his sister, Elizabeth - the sadly departed X-Man Psylocke. And he'd decided to make a night of it. 

"I - I'm Remus Lupin." He looked expectant, as though he thought Remy would recognise his name. Remy shrugged, and he could have sworn the other mans face lit up. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Sure. A pint o' whatever de house brew is."

Remus went to the bar, and Remy made himself comfortable, looking around the pub. Yep, these guys were definately weirdo's - though it was no worse than that Christmas party at the Avengers mansion he'd been to a few years ago. Considerably better, in fact. No-one was trying to kill anyone else, and what better could you ask from a night out? _Ah, de night is young, Remy-boy. Give it a chance._

Remus returned with a drink in a tankard, and Remy sipped it cautously. 

"Not bad, mon ami." 

Remus nodded, then gazed over at Remy. "You have - odd eyes."

Looking over in surprise, Remy grinned. It wasn't often people got over his general aura of charm often enough to notice his eyes. "Oui, I do. I'm a mutant." At that, it was Remy's turn to be delighted in the others' reaction. Remus was positivly underwhelmed.

"Oh, that's that American thing, isn't it? I saw it on a Muggle television set once."

Casting aside the 'Muggle' reference as some electronic equipment brand, Remy nodded. "Oh, oui. No big deal, ne c'est pas?"

"But - aren't you French?" Remus looked politely interested. And very innocent of the matters of the world, it seemed. 

"Uh, no. Cajun. From New Orleans, y' know? I mean, I been livin' in New York f' a while now. But I'm just kinda followin' m' girlfriend around de world at de minute." Remy paused, realising how much he'd just sounded like a stalker. "Dat didn't come out quite right, and I don't t'ink dere's anyway t' make it better. So I won' try." Taking a long gulp of beer, Remy sighed contentedly as his head started to feel fuzzy. "Dat's good stuff. So, what d' you do?"

"Me?" Remus looked startled to be asked. His eyes were wide, and Remy realised he was kind of cute. "Why, I... Don't do much. I was a teacher, at Hogwarts for a while - you know Hogwarts?"

"Non."

"Oh, it's the British school for Witchcraft and Wizardry. I was the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Blinking, Remy frowned. Hmm. Maybe Remus wasn't quite as cool as he seemed. Wizards? He was sure he must know one of them - Dr. Strange? Yeah. And a witch? Candra, sort of. Oh, bunches of them. No, Remus wasn't strange, really, no stranger than a mutant. 

"So dis is a wizard pub, den?"

"Oh, yes, famous. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it."

"Well, y' know..." 

"And what is it you do?"

"Oh, I'm a world-class t'ief and a superhero."

Remus paused, looking as confounded as Remy surely must have when Remus had told Remy his job. "Do the two go well togther?"

"Surprisin'ly so. Y' know, I get to see the world - and its museums..."

Remus chuckled softly, and Remy watched Remus as he smiled. He looked nice, that way. Better than nervous or glum or confused or any of the other expressions Remy had seen him wear in the ten minutes since he walked in. 

"This mutant thing - I haven't heard much about it. Can you tell me what it is?"

"Sure. Mutants have diff'rent powers, y' know? Whatever dere X factor codes for."

"Powers?" Remus was frowning. "Like what?"

"Uh," Remy said, then took out his wallet. Next to the five pictures of rogue was a group picture of the X-Men. There was Jean Grey, the Phoenix, telepath and telekinetic extroidinaire. Storm, Ororo Munroe, weather witch. Scott Summers, Cyclops could send out powerful optic blasts from his eyes, and Jubilee (so it was an old picture!) could create fireworks from her own internal metabolism. Remy explained all of this to Remus, but he seemed most intruiged by Henry McCoy, Beast, a genius covered in blue fur with fangs and claws. 

"Henri? Oh, he's cool. Real intelligent, pretty funny - a great guy. Heard he's gone under some weird mutation, lately - looks like a big feral cat, or somet'in'. He's still cool, tho."

"You - don't mind? Even though he looks like a - a wild thing?"

Remy sniggered at that comment, then shook his head. "Mon ami, when y' look like de devil hisself, y' really can't complain about de way anyone else looks."

Remus still looked concerned, but there was some emotion visible in his eye. Was that - hope? What for? "But what if they were sometimes dangerous?" Remy gave him a blank look. "I mean, like - a werewolf?"

Frowning, Remy tried to think if he knew any werewolves. He didn't think so, but who knew? "Don' know any werewolves," he said. 

"But if you did - if, say, I was one." Remus sounded almost frightened, anxious.

"What if y' were? What'd be de big deal? 'T ain't a full moon, is it?" Remy tried to look out of the window to see. 

"No, it isn't - but... Remy, I am a werewolf. I wouldn't like you to be the only one in the Leaky Cauldron who didn't know that."

"Dat's cool." Remy said, nodding then drinking, as his companion stared at him in a mixture of surprise and delight. 

"You don't mind?"

"Why should I? You don't mind dat I'm a mutant."

Remus stared at him, then smiled. "Thank you. I don't think I've ever been accepted so readily by people who know what I am."

"Yeah, people suck, I know." Finishing his drink, off, Remy picked up his wallet and rifled through it. Dollars and pesetas. That wasn't going to help him. "Mon ami, don't mean to be skivin' off y', but - could y' lend me a few quid? Or point me t' a bureau de change dat's open dis time o' night?"

* * *

_POV Change - Remus!_

Remus still stared in delighted shock at the American sat next to him. He didn't mind - he seriously didn't mind that he was a werewolf. There was no tension in his body language, nothing at all about him suggested he even cared. It was a wonderful feeling, acceptance. Remy looked over at him, those strange eyes of his looking amused, a smile curving those lovely lips from which that sexy accent sprouted. 

_You're attracted to him,_ a little voice pointed out in Remus' head. Well, that was no great surprise. Remy here was a very attracive man. And the tight top he wore left the onlooker very aware of the American's gorgeous, muscular body. Sweeping a lock of rich aubrurn hair from his eyes, Remus realised he'd just asked his a question. 

"S-sorry?"

"I asked if y' could buy me a drink. I don' have any Engish money."

"Oh, of course."

Walking over to the bar, Remus was even able to ignore the disgusted glances, and the pitying look Tom gave him as he handed over the beer and the soda water. He felt wonderful. An attractive man had accepted him for what he was with no qualms. And while Remus didn't know if Remy was even gay, it didn't matter.

_No, it doesn't. Your heart belongs to Severus,_ the sad, lonely part of the werewolf pointed out. _Oh, sod off. Severus hates what you are. And you only want a friend - and maybe a snog,_ the other part answered, and both parts agreed this was a good plan of action, at least until the werewolf could figure out a way to get into the Potions Master's heart - and bed - again. 

Putting the drink down in front of Remy, Remus smiled at him. 

"I was wondering, do you want to go somewhere a little more private? So that we can talk without-"

"I'm leaving Tom, I'm not sharing a bar with a beast!"

"-that." The wizard's comment had come just in time for Remus' explantion, but it still hurt like hell. 

"Asshole," Remy muttered, then stood. Realising Remy was about to stand up for him and adoring him for it, Remus caught his wrist and pulled him back down. "What? He was bein' a jerk. I was just gonna tell him where he could shove his-" a pause. "-wereist comments."

Smiling, casting his eyes downwards, Remus realised he actually liked this man, didn't just fancy him or respect him for not being... wereist. After Remy had finished the last of his pint, he jerked a thumb towards the door. 

"Why don' we go f' a walk, den? I quite like London at night. Walkin' be cheap, if nothin' else."

Nodding, Remus followed the man out. He was wearing trousers and a tunic, passable enough for Muggle-wear. And Remy was wearing very tight jeans, Remus noticed with a sigh. Out in the fresh air, the two walked down to the riverside, talking of their lives, though Remus hardly noticed any of it. He was too busy planning how to get Remy to kiss him.

The mutant leant against the barrier on the river bank and looked up at the starry sky, and the curse of Remus' life, the moon, a mere sliver of silver in the velvet black. Remus had no idea what came over him, but he leant up and kissed Remy's lips softly. Pulling back, blushing furiously and mortifed by his behaviour, he started apologising. 

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to do that, I-"

Remu paused him with a finger to his lips. "Remus. It's okay. really, it is. But, I got a girlfriend. And I love her more dan I ever thought possible. If not f' her, though - y' might be in wit' a very good chance." Remy gave him a breathtaking grin. "But - y' understand, non?"

"I do," Remus said, barely more than a whisper. He did, too well, having given his heart to Severus Snape long ago, and not having been able to claim it back. "Too well." As he looked back up at Remy, he saw those wonderful red-on-black eyes of his were glowing - not just burning with passion, but really glowing, as Remus knew his own eyes did sometimes, near the full moon. 

"Y' in love."

"Yes, I am," Remus admitted. "But - he doesn't love me. He could never cope with what I was. I couldn't tell him, and he found out when I was in my wolf form, about to tear his throat out."

"Ah. I can see why dat'd be a problem."

"Mmm." Remus was starting to feel morose again. Thinking about Severus always did that to him. Completely to his utter shock and surprise, he felt the American's lips on his, brushing gently, then harder as Remus responded, putting his arms around the other mans neck, stroking his tongue against his, and eventually pulling away breathless. 

"He'll get over it, Remus. I have a feelin' he prob'ly loves you too."

"Oh?" Remus couldn't help doubting the other man. He didn't know Severus. 

"Trust me, mon ami. It might take some work, but y'll get dere in de end. I been dere, done dat already. Keep de faith, an' it'll happen, chere."

Watching the man, Remus could see he _had_ been there. See the wisdom, the pain that was so much the opposite to his carefree exterior. Remus realised he liked this man a lot, and would value his friendship. But he had said he was following his girlfriend on her travels around the globe. He wouldn't be here. Another kiss would have to suffise.

Craning his neck to reach Remy's lips, they opened hungrily against his, answering his desperate kiss with some desperation of his own, and some understnading. A hand ran gently through Remus' hair as their mouths locked, tongue massaging his gently. Pulling back again, Remy looked down at him with real sadness in his eyes. 

"I got t' go now, chere. But good luck wit' y' man. 'Member what I said, 'kay? An' keep in touch." He threw a business card at Remus who caught it, thinking he'd have to learn how to use one of those internet cafes Muggles seemed so keen on. Watching remy go, he smiled. All in all, it had been a good night. A gorgeous man who had accepted him and wanted to be his friend, three kisses - and hope that the love of his life would return to him. 


End file.
